Abstract
TICK-BORNE viruses are generally transmitted into the host's vascular system in infected salivary secretions1, and it was to be expected that virus-like particles (VLPs) would be observed during an ultrastructural study of the salivary gland of the cattle tick Boophilus microplus. But it is surprising that some of these particles, which, are described here, seem to damage the cytoplasm of infected cells, and in extreme cases even to affect the secretory competence of the salivary glands. In view of the economic and medical importance of these arthropods, viruses pathogenic to ticks could have a potential as biological control agents.
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MEGAW, M. Virus-like particles pathogenic to salivary glands of the tick Boophilus microplus. Nature 271, 483–484 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1038/271483a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/271483a0
